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Tunisia cleared to play in AFCON

TUNIS, March 31 – The Tunisian football Federation (FTF) announced on Monday that they have settled their differences with African governing body CAF and will take part in qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN).

A row between Tunisia and the CAF erupted following their controversial quarter-final elimination at the hands of hosts Equatorial Guinea at the recent CAN which finished on February 8.

“The details are not yet official but following my meeting with Issa Hayatou (CAF president), for me the problems are definitely settled,” said FTF vice-president Maher Snoussi adding that an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will be withdrawn on Monday or Tuesday.

The two men met in Dakar in mid-March to negotiate a solution to the dispute while the CAF gave Tunisia until March 31 to apologise for their accusations that the defeat against Equatorial Guinea had been unfair.

The CAF also threatened to ban Tunisia from 2017 qualifying and future competitions.

“What will happen is at the next executive committee of the CAF, the bans will be lifted,” continued Snoussi.

“But I am completely reassured that Tunisia will be one of the teams that are in the draw for qualifiers,” he added.

In the disputed quarter-final, Tunisia led 1-0 until the dying seconds when the referee awarded a dubious penalty that led to the equaliser before Equatorial Guinea won the match 2-1 after extra-time.

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